High Alkalinity and PH - need opinions on acid and aeration

[lastevns]

Hey all,
After initial water fill a few days ago, I added CYA and 10% liquid chlorine as instructed by Pool Math and a TFP post.

My first 3 readings after the fill/add of initial CYA/Chlorine, show high PH and high alkalinity. Today's numbers are:
pH=8.0
Alkalinity=130
FC=6.0
CC=.5
CYA=45
Pool Math says that for the pH issue I should add 8.7 ounces of pH Down/Dry Acid. For high alkalinity it tells me I need to reduce the pH to 7.0 to 7.2 and then aerate to increase pH (I assume aeration just means running the pump longer than usual?).

Here's my question:

I read lots of posts about whether dry acid or muriatic acid is best for dropping pH. The consensus seems to be muriatic acid is prefered with the advice to add it directly to water and then clear out away from the fumes. However, for alkalinity, it says bring the pH down to 7-7.2 and then aerate to raise the pH. That seems counterintuitive since I'm "dopping acid" to lower the pH. I guess I would only need to aerate if the pH drops below 7.2 (since Pool Math says my target should be 7.2 to 8.0)?

It's in my signature but... I have an AGP with vinyl liner that holds 5,454 gallons. Can anyone tell me if the instructions I'm getting seem sound (drop pH with acid and then raise it back up with aeration?) And, I'm happy to hear opinions on the dry acid V. muriatic acid debate, too.

TIA.

 

[ajw22]

Your TA is fine for your pool setup.

Just add a bit of Muriatic Acid to get pH into the 7s.

Maintain your pH in the 7’s and your TA will be fine.

BTW, your CYA is 50, we round up.

For your setup you can use dry acid or muriatic acid. It will not make a lot of difference.

 

[lastevns]

Thanks for the super fast reply. I was most worried about the TA since it's so much higher a number (130) than what Pool Math has listed as a target number (50-90). But, in reading others' posts and replies, I see others being told not to worry about TA but to focus on pH. Also, I didn't know you rounded up. Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

You have nothing in your pool that makes high TA a problem. PoolMath does not know that and gives you the safest reccomendation.

TA - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[bwillick2015]

Just to answer your muratic acid question a little more about TA the reason why it states to drop your ph to 7 or 7.2 is because it will require more acid to drop your TA significantly but you don't want to crash your ph below 7 , so hence you would as much acid as it takes to drop ypur ph to 7.0 then aerate back up to 7.8 and then you would continue this back and forth until you gey your TA to where you want it....


I personal use murartic acid it's cheap from menards and 5 gallon pail, I fill it half way or 3/4 with pool water then dump acid in ( I personally keep chemical gloves and safety glass with it and use them when pouring to be safe ) and I always do this outside then just slowly pour it in in front of return jet (with pump running )